Quote Sheet: Fire vs. Revs

“Obviously we felt good coming into the match at home. I thought we started the game well. We created some chances in the first half and then playing against the wind was a little more difficult for us. We gave up a goal off a set piece. We got caught ball watching and gave up the goal. I thought our guys pushed to get it back, obviously we couldn’t. It was a tough loss. We have to regroup and get back to work and try to correct some of the mistakes we made.”

On inserting Maicon Santos into the match for Sherjill MacDonald at halftime:

“We took out MacDonald because we needed more from him. We needed him to hold the ball better. I think at times when we tried to find him he was late with his movement. He had a couple chances he couldn’t put away. I knew going against the wind Maicon is bigger and stronger. We could use him to hold up the ball.”

On Rolfe’s early exit from the match:

“Chris came off because he had an injury. His quad muscle or hamstring in the back had a muscle issue. He was grabbing his knee and we had to take him out. He was grabbing his knee and we were going to make a different change, but then we had to take him out because he couldn’t continue.”

On the early season offensive woes:

“We got to put our chances away. I thought in the first half we had some good looks. We have got to be better in the final third. It’s difficult when you create the opportunities but don’t put them away. The game sometimes is not fair because out of nothing, we gave up a goal. I think in the run of play we got in some good spots, we just couldn’t finish. We have to be better.
When you put your chances away it takes a lot of pressure off.”

On the switch of Jalil Anibaba and Steven Kinney in the back:

“I knew Jerry Bengtson was more athletic and with his speed, I wanted to get Jalil in the back. I switched it up at the end of the game because I knew Steven was getting tired and we had to push the game. I knew Jalil still had his legs and could push it on the right. I thought Steven had a good game. I think at the end it was a fitness thing with him. Unfortunately we had used up all our subs at that time. That’s why I switched him with Jalil. He was fresh and we needed to push the game.”

How the revamped midfield gelled:

“Two weeks we lost the game, I think the effort was there from the group. We have to keep working. Our problems are a little bit in the back where we are making some mistakes and paying for them. We got to continue to work and review the tape. There were some good things the team came out with a lot of energy at home. We were excited in front of our fans but we’re disappointed. We have to review the tape and move on and prepare for a difficult match in Kansas City.”
Chris Rolfe, Chicago Fire forward

On the result:

“I think the L.A. game was an eye opener for us, and I think this week we were much better. We were unfortunate to at least not tie this game. We had three pretty clear cut changes what we were just not sharp enough on, but our defense played very well. “

On New England’s goal:

“The goal that they scored was kind of a fluke. Normally that ball would have cleared, but again that’s just a lack of sharpness.”

Patrick Nyarko, Chicago Fire midfielder

On how to move forward:

“We need to just keep working and working. Right now we just need to focus on creating chances. If we aren’t creating chances and scoring soon, I’ll be concerned. In L.A. we really didn’t create much, we got a couple clear cut chances but just aren’t sharp yet in front of the goal, that comes with time. “

On not scoring in two games:

It’s disappointing that we haven’t scored in two games , but if we keep creating chances we have good forwards that will convert them. At some point you’re going to go through a drought, it’s better to go through it early rather than later when you really need them. We need them now, but not as much as we will later on. We’ll work on that, keep creating changes and I think we’ll be fine.“

On playing with new teammates:

“We’re still learning from each other. I didn’t start in pre-season, Dilly [Duka] didn’t start pre-season - we all joined in later so we need a little time to play together, but I think there’s improvement. As today’s performance indicates, I think we played very well. Sometimes you play well and still lose the game, this was one of those. As we keep going we’ll keep learning, those guys have high soccer IQ’s so it makes it easier to blend them in.”

Sean Johnson, Chicago Fire goalkeeper

On the result:

“There were moments when things were going our way and times when defensively they were going our way, but at the end of the day we need to figure it all out and make adjustments accordingly. I thought as a whole we played well, it’s just tough when we don’t get a result from a game like this. Going forward we need to stick to the things that make us a good team – the things made us create chances and win the opportunities. If we keep playing like this, one thing will go our way it will have a trickle affect and we’ll be ok. It’s a disappointing result, we wanted to win at home, especially after the game in L.A., but it’s just time and we’ll have to work for our results. “

On the adjustments after last week’s game:

“I think we played ok in L.A. A 4-0 result doesn’t show that, but we had periods in the game when we played excellent. The ball over the top, we dealt better with them on the defensive line. We’ll just get back to practice this week and keep working and grinding out and we’re prepared to do that.”

Austin Berry, Chicago Fire defender

Overall thoughts on the game:

“I don’t know. I thought defensively we played well. It was a big difference from the last game and obviously and I thought it was a good 90 minutes minus that couple of seconds that we didn’t defend well on the second ball. We just gotta look at tape and keep getting better because I think it was an improvement from the last game but just an unfortunate result.”

On the goal:

“It was a broken down play. We cleared the first ball but we just didn’t stick to marks on the second ball in. It’s a shame because we had defended well for the majority of the game to get scored on a fluke play like that.”
On not having Arne:

“We’re getting more comfortable. I think sliding in Jalil into the center back spot, there’s a little bit more familiarity between me and him. We played a lot of games last season so it’s getting better but we would like to have Arne back.”
New England Revolution Head Coach Jay Heaps

Thoughts on the match:

“It was a hard fought battle. I thought we did a lot of good things, with a couple of mistakes here and there that led to a lot of their chances. Overall it was pretty solid. We were sharp defensively and thought we had a couple more chances, maybe after we scored the first one-I thought we could have had another one. I liked the way we finished the game. The guys were fighting for every inch.”

What was the difference in the second half?

“You saw Juan [Toja], and how difficult he is to cover because he’s kind of a hybrid player. His movements are herky-jerky, it’s tough. Jerry [Bengston] was really good. He battled and worked hard and he arrived in a lot of places. I think Kelyn [Rowe] came in and changed the game, and he showed a little bit of class in terms of receiving the ball, finding the gaps and of course setting up the goal.”

On Kelyn’s assist:

“He’s good like that. He can see the field, he knows where he is. We prayed to get the ball in the box because we know that Jerry likes to score goals like that. [Jerry] waits for balls like that, and he has the calmness to finish it. It was a good finish.”
On coming away with the first win at Toyota Park since July 2006:

“I’ve had a couple losses in this building. So we had to come back here again but I think our guys were ready and we had that extra week of preparation and I think that helped us. Our game plan was good and our tactics were good and our players of course, they’re the ones that go out and play and they did a good job.

On Matt Reis’s performance:

“Matt has shown he’s kept that level since the end of last year to the beginning of the season. For me, that save is exactly what we need from a goalkeeper. They really didn’t have much, and they had the win so Duka unleashes one and Matt stays with it and makes a great save.”

New England Revolution Captain and Midfielder Clyde Simms

On the match:

“It was a hard fought game. We came out in the first half with the wind in our faces. They were coming at us and we did a good job of keeping them at zero until halftime when we got the wind a little bit. Then we started to play in the second half and then we got the goal and towards the end they started pushing a lot of numbers. I’m really happy we kept them out of our goal.”
On taking control of midfield in the second half:

“Yes, definitely. It was something we sort of set up to do this game with our formation. They are very strong in midfield and we wanted to neutralize that and take advantage of that. I think we did a good job of that, especially in the second half.”
On the team’s first win at Toyota Park since July 2006:

“It’s great. We try not to look too much into the past. We have a new team and some very good players here that we are trying to pull together. Wins on the road in this league aren’t easy. To get a road win in the first game of this season is a great sign. Any time you get a win is good.”

New England Revolution Midfielder Kelyn Rowe

On his assist:

“It was a corner kick and Juan got on the top of the box and I was supporting him and I yelled ‘lay it off!’ and I knew someone was at the back post. Lucky Jerry was there to put it away. “

On the match:

“I thought we played well. We created chances for each other, especially in the second half. We defended well at the end and we didn’t give up a goal. It’s something that we strive for. This year we want to get as many points as we can.”

On the difference between first and second half play:

“We definitely had to pick it up. We were a little lackadaisical, it was our first game, it was away, there was a good crowd here in Chicago, and they’re obviously ready to go with their first home game. Jay says, look, we got to pick it up, we have to go for a win and we’re not going to drop these points.”